Yaewp - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Wintermute · 06-30-2006, 11:34 AM

I know, I know - Yet Another Extended Warranty Post. But this is not quite the same as others. Here's the deal. I've had my 02 S for about 2 months now, and the factory warranty will be expiring next month. The car has 35k miles on it currently and is used as a daily driver. I just had it into the Porsche dealer (who, thankfully, have treated me very well) for an inspection and to have my door armrest covers replaced (the coating started to peel off). Oh and to get the door locks reprogrammed. Total cost: $0.

Anyway, they gave the car a thorough inspection for free and said everything is in great shape. Nothing was leaking, all the seals, belts, hoses, etc. were fine, and the engine is running well. Now to get a full extended warranty from WarrantyDirect (including emissions) for 4 years/75k miles will cost me about $2800 with a $100 deductible, or $3200 with a $0 deductible.

I'm torn as to whether or not I should spring for the warranty. I can deal with most repair costs, but a $5-10k engine replacement i can't. Well I could but it would make me very grumpy

So based on the fact that it's a low milage car with no history of problems and just passed an inspection from Porsche, how worth it is an extended warranty?

Wintermute · 07-01-2006, 10:24 AM

No thoughts?

bigislandboxster · 07-01-2006, 11:29 AM

The older the car gets, and the more it gets driven, the more likely something will go...If you're not a do it your selfer, and you drive your car regularly, it might be a good thing to do. What does the warranty cover? Thats important too...Does it cover the dreaded RMS? I went for piece of mind on my '98, as I knew I did not want to be pulling large sums of cash out of my pocket. In a little over 1 year on a 3 year warranty, it has almost payed for itself.....If you can afford it, it might buy piece of mind. If you don't use it, then at least you're covered....

Brucelee · 07-01-2006, 11:43 AM

My basic take on extended warranties is that it all lies with the buyer and their ability and willingness to take risk.

Put it this way. Warranty companies are nsurance companies. Most are very good with data, underwriting and rating. Hence, over say 10K warranties, they will always make money.

Now, you will only insure one car and your ability to predict whether it will break and how much it will cost is very poor compared to the warranty company.

So, does that mean you should not buy? NO.

It means you have to examine what would happen if you DID have to pay for a repair of a large order. If you could not come up with the dough or if thinking about the risk of this makes you kind of sick, you are likely a warranty guy.

If on the other hand, you have tons of dough and don't really mind a bit of risk, you may never buy a warranty.

If it were me, I would warranty a Porsche. I would NOT warranty a Lexus.

But, that is just me.

Pablito · 07-01-2006, 12:19 PM

Go For it!!! The $100.00 deductible sounds like a deal....see if it can be extended to 100k miles......My 98' is also a daily driver and I'm currently at 130k miles on the clock...major shortcomings started at around 70k miles....You may (or may not) run with the proverbial RMS deal. Although if there's no leak thus far maybe you'll not get it at all..I know I don't have that problem, but I did run into other headaches...Like Cooling system, one of my fans seized ($180.00) which created overheating and evetual cracking of the coolant reservior tank ($280.00) which in turn made one of the front radiators to leak ($340.00)...Or when the AC evaporator ($370.00) turned to swiss cheese leaking freon in the blower unit and I had to tear down the entire front dash ($400.00) to get it replaced......yeah it would have been nice to have an extended warranty then.

The coverage issue is also a good point before signing up, find out if it's a bumper to bumper deal, not including wear parts of couse, and if that's the case laike I said, go for it!!!

Iatros · 07-02-2006, 03:06 AM

If you have AAA membership, I'd try them for extended warranty as well..

My parents have a very low miles 01 Jag Vanden Plas and as notorius as Jags are for their break downs, AAA gave them a 4 year, 100k warranty for right around 2,500-3,000, with zero deductible.

Oh, and that 100k is from where the car is NOW, not 100k total miles.

Good luck

Wintermute · 07-03-2006, 09:07 AM

Thanks for the tips everyone. Here's the deatils of the warranty (from the actual contract):

"We will pay the repair facility of Your choice, or reimburse You, for the reasonable cost to repair or replace any part of Your Vehicle where a Failure has occurred, except for those items listed in the Exclusions section of this booklet."

The exclusions include things like batteries, tires, lightbulbs, and other consumibles. I can also add emmisions coverage that adds things like the mass-airflow sensor. Also here are the terms for the warranty, for $0, $50, $100, and $200 deductibles.

4 Years / 75,000 Miles $3,061 $2,911 $2,736 $2,411
4 Years / 85,000 Miles $3,477 $3,302 $3,102 $2,693
4 Years / 100,000 Miles $3,906 $3,731 $3,531 $3,024

So which one should I get?

bigislandboxster · 07-03-2006, 10:40 AM

Unless you have long commutes every day, or plan on long trips with your car, the first one should suffice, thats over 18,000 miles per year. As far as deductible, thats really up to you, and how much of a difference it makes cash flow wise. Another thing you might want to check out is if the warranty is transferable. If you end up selling the car before 4 years, it will be a bonus to a prospective buyer

07-03-2006, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wintermute

I can also add emmisions coverage that adds things like the mass-airflow sensor.

If you are going to get this product, you might want to elect this coverage too.

Pablito · 07-03-2006, 11:21 AM

i agree with both replies above.....emissions including maf and oxy sensors should be a must. As far as the mileage go really depends on the usage, you said it's a daily driver, I believe either of the first two should be ok....deductible? you better than anyone can answer that because it relates directly to your cashflow....good luck!!!

xavier405 · 07-03-2006, 01:19 PM

I've had several little fixes on my 02 and my extended warranty covered it. One visit I fixed a sticky fuel gauge sensor, a noisy fuel door lock, and a sticky ignition lock. All were minor nags that I could have lived with forever, but all qualified for warranty replacement. All told it was well over $1000 I don't recall exactly. Plus another trip for a MAF for several hundred more. This warranty ($2500) is starting to pay for itself in its first year and nothing major has gone wrong.
I'm glad I got it!